Set Fire to the Rain
by ChristmasonPancakes
Summary: He knew she would break sometime.  OneShot


**A/N: Hi guys! This is my first VicTORious fanfiction, and I really hope you enjoy it! Now, there are many ways to interpret the relationships set in this fanfiction, some of them give you less room to evaluate than others, but I did NOT want to spoil what relationships I was writing about. They are a little different, a little odd, but I think you will enjoy! I surely enjoyed writing! This is a oneshot too, people, please no requests for a chapter two!**

**I don't own VicTORious! But please enjoy!**

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><p>"I'm telling you!" Rex rambled defiantly, as Robbie looked around uncomfortably, beads of sweat forming on his head, "I <em>heard <em>him say it! _With my own ears!_"

"You can _shut up _now, Puppet. You heard _nothing._" Jade cooed harshly in a magnificently powerful voice. She _didn't _want to hear this. She crossed her arms with much difficulty and swallowed the bile rising in her throat.

_She did not want to hear this._

_She did not want to believe this.  
><em>

"Now hold up, _Jade-" _Rex spit out her name with an incredible amount of venom. For a puppet, sometimes he could be very _human, _"I _have_ a name. _You _can call me Rex. I don't just call you woman..._woman!"_

Being called by her gender made Jade's blood boil, even more so than it was previously doing, and no longer having the ability to control her actions, she grabbed the puppet-_Rex-_from Robbie and tossed it clear across the school hall.

Robbie watched on, and while his first reaction _would _have been to run after Rex, return, and ramble and stutter pointlessly until Jade would undoubtedly dump chocolate beverage down his shirt, instead he watched Rex-_the puppet-_fly clear across the room, while the burden of him seemed to vanish into thin air.

Robbie was panting heavily, his hair sticking to his forehead unnaturally due to the sweat beads forming there. He never _did _like stress, and when it came at him, he usually avoided it clumsily or idiotically _waited_ for it. But this time, he couldn't run from the trouble that...that _puppet _caused him...the trouble that..._he _caused? He was confused...

Ventriloquism was a tricky business...

He rubbed his clammy hands together and took inventory of the situation Rex had caused, the people who had witnessed this terrible gathering of anger, frustration, and all around unpleasantness that came hand in hand with the boiling point that his group of friends had reached.

It was only a matter of time.

People had gathered in the hall, Sinjin specifically dropping his books as he stared on in awe, and Robbie then turned slowly to his friends...

_His friends..._

_ First Tori. _Tori's mouth formed a small "O" and her left hand was strewn uselessly at her side, her eyebrows nearly reaching the ceiling. Robbie almost wanted to chuckle, he knew this look, '_This is her 'look-at-me-I'm-judgmental' look'_ he mused in silence. She had her right hand located softly on Cat's shoulder previously, but her gaze reached Cats and her hand fell, pulled back as if she had been burned, her eyes holding a disapproval and shock that knew no bounds. Her quiet, _unfair,_ scrutiny of Cat fell. As her eyes reached the floor, she slowly inched to Andre's side, unsure of how to approach any of them, but finding solace in Andre, in the least.

So then Andre. Andre-usually so unnaturally calm and understanding-looked on in disappointed speechlessness, his disparaging glare sending daggers right into Beck's back.

Beck; Beck had never looked so different. He panted softly, his breath coming slowly as he awaited Jade's loving (Well, as loving as _Jade _could muster) look, knowing very well that it may _never_ come. His long hair was disheveled from countless times of running his fingers through it in embarrassment and frustration, never wanting to release his cool exterior. But it cracked, _he _cracked, and tears ran down his face as he mentally _begged _Jade to look at him once more. He felt like _dirt._

_And he was._

But he _never _meant to hurt Jade. He didn't entirely _know_ why this hurt her so much. But he knew it did.

His mouth quivered, and a short girl with a fiery red mane lifted her creamy, off-white hand to his broad shoulder, and she offered him an accepting look. '_I understand' _it seemed to ring in Beck's mind, her soft, childish, and eternally compassionate voice, as her deep brown eyes held no judgment, only the smallest trace of disappointment and embarrassment. And all of those older than life itself _feelings_.

_You could only see that if you looked hard enough._

She dropped eye contact by looking fixedly at the floor, then playing extensively with a loose thread on her pink shirt, then twirling her red-velvet-cupcake hair. When she finally looked back up to Beck, she gave him a glance as to say _'What am I supposed to do with you, Beck?'_

Beck's mouth formed a small smile, embarrassed, and eternally pained by his _stupid..._his _idiotic _brain, functioning in ways he would never allow. That...that god damn _dream! Why?_ Why did this have to happen to _him? _He did no wrong by Jade, never cheated, never harmed her, always had her best interest at heart. Hell, he never even _broken up _with her! But he knew...he would _not _be forgiven for this. Never.

_There was no way he could be._

Then Robbie brought his gaze to Jade. _Jade. _There was nothing about her that was even _Jade _anymore. Her eyebrows were brought together, staring off at where she previously threw Rex, her eyes pooling with un-shed tears.

_She was strong._

But her arms were crossed over her chest protectively, her body hunched over in anger and resentment, her hair disheveled and falling around her like a dark halo. She was an angel of darkness. But her vulnerability released, her facade broke, unleashed mercilessly like a dam, and it flooded. She was broken.

_But this time, Beck wasn't there to piece her back together again._

So Robbie watched this stranger, _Jade, _or rather who she had become with this terrible news.

It broke her down like she had never been broken before.

_She hadn't._

Robbie returned his gaze to Beck then, an unimaginable, relentless anger flaring up in him.

_Jade was his friend._

"Why?" Jade turned to Beck and whispered accusingly into the fiery atmosphere that remained, her question falling to the floor and shattering upon impact.

Beck _had _no answer.

And with that, she ran.

* * *

><p>Robbie traveled down the long, dark hallways. '<em>It's hours past closing time!' <em>he mused uncomfortably. The lockers seemed to be doing evil dances with the moonlight that fell within the school during the long hours of the night. People had stopped looking for Jade _hours _ago, giving up hope, believing that she had hopped a bus and skipped town for a little while.

Robbie _knew _better.

But was he about to lead a search party of about half the school right to where he _knew _Jade would be?

_No._

So he waited.

He continued to softly pad down the halls, his footsteps falling into the night, never to be heard from again. He slowly inched near a long forgotten door, one lost within the recesses of the school, and his memory.

_Years _ago, as in...elementary school...Robbie had gone here with a friend. Well...an enemy. No, friend? Enemy? What exactly _was _she to him?

_Did it really matter?_

He shook his head slowly, clearing his mind, and pushed his ear softly against the rusty iron door, listening intently for something, _anything._

The soft sound of sobs broke the tangible silence flooding the school. But not heavy, meaningless sobs. Soft, heart-wrenching, shattered sobs that tore Robbie apart, piece by piece.

He sighed softly, choking up, then opened the door softly, in the least menacing way possible.

Jade still jumped, though, startled, when he walked in the room, the darkness influencing her ability to see clearly. But when she adjusted and saw who it was that came for her, she raised one perfectly arched eye brow in disbelief, throwing a threatening scowl at him.

But Robbie was relentless, and he would not leave. He would not be intimidated by Jade.

She simply stared, then, realizing that he would not go, and her scowl turned into a quivering pout, as her tears silently fell. _This _Jade, the one that remained, knew no pride. Knew no safety in confidence. It was all gone.

"Why, Robbie?" Jade managed to choke out, holding her hand to her chest, to her heart.

_Her heart? It was breaking._

"I don't know," he murmured, "I'm a little shocked by it myself-"

"-Am I not...am I not..._enough?"_ Jade broke in suddenly, fear lacing her tone along with curiosity. She allowed herself to meet his soft gaze, if only for a moment, and awaited his answer.

Robbie looked down at her, her contradictory blue eyes shining with tears, her black hair falling to her sides in messy waves, various streams of color and light weaving through it, as she allowed herself to fall into the darkness that surrounded her. She fit in there nicely, he noted; black on black, her seeping depression and pain falling into the night sky. But the moon illuminated her skin clearly, giving it an icy white-blue glow, the creaminess and flawlessness of every piece of open skin irradiated ten fold.

For the first time, Robbie noticed that Jade was...sort of beautiful.

_Sort of._

He slowly went to kneel down next to Jade, and gazed into her eyes holding a strength that she did not know he was capable of.

"_He's _not enough. _Not you. You _are...you are perfect." Robbie boomed with conviction, a harshness in his voice that was unfamiliar and startling. But his nervousness at the last phrase noticeably throwing him off.

With that, he took a seat next to Jade on the floor, then observing the coolness of it, and awkwardly climbing out of his jacket to throw it around her shoulders. She chuckled slightly mockingly when his movements came out less suave then he hoped, and his arm got caught in sleeve unintentionally. The small set of laughter led to another fit of crying, and she held Robbie's jacket close to her, and nestled her head in his neck.

Robbie sat with her then, allowing her tears to soak into his shoulder, reminiscing about their childhood, hiding from the harsh cruelties of the world in this secret room. Unaware of what to do with _his _arms, though, he fumbled with his glasses, trying not to disturb Jade.

"You know, you _can_ but your arm around me, you nerd." Jade mocked softly into his shirt, sniffling, trying to repair the walls that had fallen down inside herself.

Robbie then chuckled and threw an uncoordinated arm around Jades shoulder, rubbing small circles into her back, using his other hand to try to warm her by creating friction and rubbing her arm up and down. Jade curled into a small, defenseless ball into his lap, as Robbie whispered sweet nothings into her ear.

After some time of silence, Jade finally whispered, "What exactly did he say?"

"Hm?"

"Beck. What did he say?" Jade continued, waiting for him to go on and fill her in.

Robbie froze, unnatural and uncomfortable, but slowly let his thoughts wander back to when Beck had really let it all go downhill...

* * *

><p><em>They were having an all-nighter at the school, apparently some new project tactic that was taken from some school in Seattle. Robbie and Beck were assigned a psychological project from Lane, made to find what the heart and mind really identify as wants and needs. Lane offered to help them, and Robbie and Beck gladly took the help, Beck agreeing to be the guinea pig for one night.<em>

_He was put in a chamber, and Lane would reveal different names, atmospheres, smells, sounds, tastes, feelings while Beck was asleep. Lane commented that while sleeping, inhibitions are gone and that what we dream of are taken straight from our hearts and minds. And while we can consciously make decisions, ones that may not even be true to ourselves, while we're awake, while sleeping we have no choice but to be 100% honest with ourselves._

_And everyone else._

_Beck went into the chamber, and after 45 minutes, he had finally found sleep. After many tests on atmospheres, smells, sounds, tastes, and feelings, Lane allowed Robbie to take over and subject the unconscious mind to honest interpretations and opinions, as well as feelings for, his friends._

_Robbie first took out his name in the monitor, testing the reaction._

_"No change in heart rate" Robbie spoke to Rex, "that's a relief-"_

_"Please," Rex jeered, "Not even Sinjin would have a thing for you, let's just get that straight."_

_Robbie rolled his eyes at Rex's cruel comment and continued, "mostly pleasant memories and reactions are coming from Beck, now audio..."_

_Robbie slowly turned a dial and allowed audio from the chamber to come into the headsets, hearing something along the lines of, "Wouldya...putthah...puppetdown...passthah...salt...pleaseandthank-youuuu" (His speech drifted a little at the last part)._

_"And the monitor says...friendship" Robbie noted on the clipboard, "great!"_

_"Friendship" Rex scoffed,"like YOU have any friends"_

_Robbie continued with the testing, going through with most of the friends, finding natural things for Andre, Tori, even mostly friendship feelings for Trina, although Beck never really liked her._

_But they soon reached a problem._

_"Wait a minute..." Robbie mumbled, curious about the results of the newest test for Jade, "Friendship."_

_"What?" Rex slurred, "Uh-uh, this thing must be busted, bud"_

_"It's not, I'm sure of it...wait, let me set this to a different atmosphere and turn on the audio, we'll see if this is working correctly..." he murmured off. He continued to set the atmosphere to one of happiness, warmth, and set the feelings to ones of fondness and love. Most of which, should be for Jade._

_Robbie continued twisting the dial until he released the atmosphere and feelings into the chamber, watching Beck's reaction, a small smile gracing his features, and Robbie listened very carefully, Rex sharing one of the ear buds._

_"Mmm..." Beck started to mutter._

_"I'm not hearing anything, Rob-"_

_"Shhhh!" Robbie cried out, waiting, "just listen, Rex! Just...listen..." Robbie rambled off when he heard something he...was not in the least bit expecting to...  
><em>

_Oh my God._

_"What?" Rex urged, "What is it?"_

_"L-listen..." Robbie numbly cried out._

_Robbie placed the ear bud in Rex's ear, pressuring him to listen intently._

_That's when Rex heard it._

_"Mm...C...at...I love you, Cat, I...mmm..."_

_Oh. My. God._

* * *

><p>"I had never been more scared in my life" Robbie admitted self-consciously.<p>

Jade looked up at him in confusion, although pain graced her features at what had occurred in Beck's dreams, she turned her full attention to Robbie. "What," she began, her smirk not reaching her eyes, "afraid Beck was gonna beat you up cause of the information you got?"

Robbie turned to her in confusion, pain etched on his face at her conclusion, "No," he stated, "scared that Beck was going to hurt you."

He turned away, then, when Jade began to look at him quizzically. He pulled away from their embrace and turned to the door, "Beck is a good guy" Robbie began, "you'll forgive him."

"And you?" Jade asked, then standing behind him, some of her strength and will returning, "Will you forgive him?"

"W-what?" He stuttered, unsure of what she was implying.

"Will you forgive him? For what he said?" She asked, no trace of fear or vulnerability in her face.

Robbie was afraid of her again, but somehow, for a different reason. The kind of fear that makes your heart race and your stomach pump, and your mind go wild. So _would _he ever forgive Beck? For what he said, for how he hurt Jade?

"No." Robbie swore, clenching his jaw, "Never."

Jade smirked, then, returning to herself, her strength coming and giving her the bravery to start over again, maybe to find a new way, maybe not. Maybe she would run back to Beck. But again, maybe not. Maybe she would find the strength to start a new day, maybe not. Maybe she would set fire to the rain that washed over her, baptized her, changed her, but maybe she would fall to her feet and allow it to win. _Again._

Jade looked upwards, light from the early morning break flooding in and gracing her features, and she returned her pleased gaze back to Robbie, "Good."

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><p><strong>Phew, wasn't that fun? I hope you enjoyed that! (I also hope I didn't lose half of the fans midway through, I didn't want to lose anyone just because they didn't like a pairing, I tried to be fair to the numerous pairings I had included. By the way, my crackship is CatBeck and Robbie/Jade, I just was SO inspired and HAD to write a fanfiction on them. I dunno why. Maybe you can look forward to some deep Cat/Beck stuff in the future? I hope I'll be more inspired to write soon! I love reviews! They make my day! (Please, I am NOT kidding) and I really hoped you enjoyed! Love you all! Thank you for reading!  
><strong>


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